A lesbian couple – Riley Duckworth, 25, and Patricia Pattenden, 23 – were at Tim Hortons in Blenheim, Ontario three weeks ago when they were asked to leave. The popular Canadian brand coffee shop cited public displays of affection as the cause for the boot and issued an apology, but Duckworth did not accept.

According to CTV News, the couple was outside drinking coffee with a group of family and friends and saw a man watching them from inside the restaurant. Soon after, the man went up to the counter and, a few minutes later, the assistant manager came out and asked the couple to stop doing what they were doing and leave.

Duckworth says her partner had her hand around her waist, and had kissed her on the cheek once or twice but she denies they were groping each other.

“The manager said that our behavior was inappropriate and that it was a family friendly establishment and it wasn’t acceptable there,” Duckworth said. “We would need to leave within five minutes or the cops would be called.”

As the couple left, the pastor at a local church allegedly held a prayer circle with more than a dozen people in the parking lot to “pray for the couple’s souls,” Duckworth said.

Duckworth says she’ll never return to Tim Hortons again. “We want to make sure this won’t happen again to anybody else because it’s wrong and it should have never happened in the first place.”

A Facebook group was created Sunday evening calling for a demonstration outside the outlet on Thursday that will be attended by friends, family and supporters including members of Pride Chatham-Kent. By late Monday morning, several hundred people had joined the Facebook group.